


Employees

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Holidays, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21799690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Bones hates everything, especially his posse.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Comments: 11
Kudos: 100





	Employees

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Special thanks to Ri for the bun!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

“Oh no.” 

Spock glances up, then follows Leonard’s gaze and hurriedly straightens to his full height. Leonard gives up on fixing the display of no-longer-folded sweatshirts he and Spock were attending in the wake of a six-child explosion. Parents who let their children ruin retail displays are the bane of Leonard’s existence.

So is Jim. He’s wandering across the hallway of the mall, headed out of the bookstore he works at to the clothing boutique Leonard and Spock work at, which is always a recipe for disaster. Leonard’s only solace is that Jim’s still wearing his printed apron, which means he must just be on break rather than actually finished with his shift, so he’ll have a limited amount of time to torment them.

For a moment, it looks like Spock’s going to make a break for it, and he _could_ —Jim’s Leonard’s best friend; there’s no need for Spock to stick around for the torture. But Spock merely puffs out his chest and folds his arms behind his back, as though ready to greet any normal customer when he knows damn well Jim’s not going to actually buy anything. 

Then Jim’s woven around the discount rack half blocking the entrance, and he’s stopping right in front of them. He smiles jovially at both, though with an extra glimmer in his eyes for Spock that already has Leonard groaning. Leonard just comes out and says it, “What’d you want, Jim?”

Jim jerks his head back like he’s offended and easily quips, “Jeez, Bones—I forgot how prickly you get this time of year.”

Of course he gets prickly. Everybody intelligent bristles all holiday season long, because that’s when all the idiots come out to wreak havoc. It’s bad enough that customers have been destroying his displays non-stop, but he’s also had to deal with _two_ different choirs pausing halfway down the mall to serenade the unsuspecting workers with horrible off-key clichés. To make matters worse, his schedule’s jam-packed even though he _wanted_ to take the whole week off. Instead of being able to head off to San Francisco for the winter, he’s stuck commuting through six inches of snow, and suddenly, _every_ shift is a Spock shift.

And to top it all off, Jim’s got that annoying grin on his face every time they cross paths, probably just because Leonard’s _not_ grinning. 

Leonard just repeats, “ _What’d you want?_ ”

Jim looks at both of them, gaze lingering on Leonard’s dour expression, then down Spock’s chest. Spock’s wearing a bright blue v-neck sweater: the least offensive of all the ones they sell. It sold out on Tuesday. Leonard got stuck with a stupid gingerbread pun sweater because their manager is forcing them to wear ugly holiday sweaters for the season. Every new design they get in is more hideous than the last.

So of course Jim says, “I wanna buy one of your best holiday sweaters.”

“Of course you do.” Leonard rolls his eyes, which just makes Jim grin wider.

Jim insists, “C’mon, storekeep. Show me what you got.”

Leonard stares at him for a good two seconds, then looks sideways at Spock, passing the responsibility right over. It’s not like they work on commission. And it’s not like Jim actually wants a sweater.

Spock asks, “What kind are you looking for?”

Jim pretends to think about it, only to nod towards Spock and say, “I like yours.”

Of course he does. Spock informs him, “This particular design has already sold out.”

“I’ll give you one hundred for the one you’re wearing. I got a bonus at work.”

“You?” Leonard asks, ignoring the first sentence, because Jim’s just being ridiculous.

Spock counters, “It costs twenty-four ninety-nine.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Spock. One hundred and one, then?”

Spock’s bow lips draw into a frown, and he informs Jim, “I do not have a change of clothes available. If I sell you the one I am wearing, I will have nothing to wear myself.”

“That’s the idea.”

Spock’s cheeks flush a faint green.

Leonard grumbles, “Jim, don’t make me get Uhura to ban you again.”

Jim chuckles, “Fine. What do you think would look good on me, Spock?”

From the way Spock’s looking at Jim, Leonard half expects him to answer ‘nothing,’ but fortunately, Spock’s better at keeping it together while he’s on the clock. He gestures to a nearby rack, indicating a gold synthetic-wool sweater with silver tinsel around the sleeves. Jim walks over to feel the material.

He pulls it off the hanger, declaring, “I’ll take it. Can you wrap it for me?”

“Of course.”

They don’t actually offer a wrapping service. But Spock follows Jim to the register anyway. Leonard’s so over both of them. He stays behind to fix the sweatshirt display again, only to realize a lone child’s come and devastated it again while he was distracted.


End file.
